Justin Verlander, left, and Justin Miller stand outside their locker room Thursday when the game was due to rain in Lakeland.

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In his most advanced work yet in 2014, Justin Verlander continued to seek 2012.

The Detroit Tigers right-hander had his delayed first scheduled start of the exhibition season was rained out today. So he threw, by his report, 45 pitches in a batting cage with hitters standing - but not swinging - at the plate. He also did his normal warm-up of about 40 pitches.

Afterward, Verlander sat at his locker and told a group of reporters that his inconsistency in 2013 might have been traceable to the problems in his core-muscle area. ...